Feeding mechanisjj



" Feb; 5, 1929;

- 1,701,483 E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANI SM Original Filed Feb. 24. 1

9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 5, 1929.

E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANISM 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizven/tar:

Fi ed Feb. 24- 1921 [Zvwrfi Z /l I I I Feb 5, 192%. 1,701,483

E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANI SM Original Filed Feb. 24, 1921 '9 Sheets-Sheet s l I I l 3 Feb. 5, 1929. B,7l,483

' E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 24. 1921 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 mamas Feb. 5, 1929.

E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 24, 1921 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 fizz/m2 Zvr:

Feb. 5, 1929. 1,701,483

' E. E. LANE FEEDING- MECHANISM Original Filed'Feb. 24, 1921 9 Sheets- Sheet 6 fw/vewinr:

Fens; 1929. 4

E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANISM Original F iled Feb. 24, 1921 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 Feb. 5, 1929.

E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 24, 1921 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 E. E. LANE FEEDING MECHANISM Feb. 5, 1929.

9 Sheds-Sheet 9 Original Filed Feb. 24. 1921 haw Patented Feb, 5,

ears y es arises TO HARRY H. 'IBECKWITH,

FEEDING- MECHANISM.

Original application filed February 2 1,

This invention relates to feeding mecha-' nisms iorfeeding blanks successively from a stack and has been more particularly designed for feeding shoe stiffener blanks to skiving mechanismin the machine disclosed and claimed in my application for patent, Serial No. 41 17 384, filed February 24, 1921, for skivin machines of which this application is a division.

This mechanism in general comprises reciprocatory teed fingers which are normally projected through slots in a stack supporting plate or table to engage and feed the lowest blank from the stack to feed rollers, and to then return depressed below the slotted plate so as to'be out of contact With the blanks. Means is also provided for manually con trolling the motion of the feed fingers so that on their feeding stroke they may not rise sufficiently to contact with the blank when it is desired to interrupt the feed. This may be done without in any way afi'ecting other operative portions of the machine. 7

For a more complete understanding of this invention, including further novel features,

reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan of the skiving machine showing thefeeding mechanism.

Figures 2 and she fragmentary vertical sections tlirouglithe mechanism illustrating it in different positions of its normal movement.

, Figure 4 is a detail section illustrating in inoperative position portion of the mechanism shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 5 shows a handle for this mechanism. Figures 6 and 7 show a yielding connection in the mechanism for operating the feed ingers.

Figure 8 is a section on line 88 of Figure 2 through the feed bars. Figure 9 is a section on line 99 of Figure '2 and shows a portion of the mechanism by which a four way motion is imparted to the feedbars. Figure 10 represents a similar section with the parts in difierent positions Figure 11 represents a horizontal section on line 11-- 11 of Figure 3.

Figure 12 is a vertical section through a feed roll on line 12%12 of Figurell.

1921, Serial No. 447,384. Divided and this application filed July 20,1925. Serial No. 44,664.

Figure 13 is a transverse vertical section through the main rolls and illustrates a portion of the gearing for driving the supplemental roll.

Figure 14 is a diagrammatic view of certain of the gearing.

Figure 15 is a detail section through a spring for holding one end'of the supplement al feed roll against the Work,

Figures 16 and 17 are detail sections through the feed roll on line 1616 and 17-17, respectively, of Figure 11.

Figure 18 is a plan View of a magazine for the blanks. I

Figure 19 is a rearelevation of a portion thereof.

Figure 20 is a side elevation of the magazine.

.As best shown in Figures 1 and a, a pair of rolls 160 and 161 are employedto feed the blanks against the edge of a band skiving knife 46, one of these rolls, as 160, being recessedand the roll 161'being arranged to press each blank presented thereto into the recess or cavity 162 of the roll 160 so that the portions of the blank projecting therefrom are trimmed off by the knife. Mechanism for automatically feeding the blanks to these rolls is provided. This mechanism comprises a main feeding apparatus and also a supplemental ieed roll which is located close to the rolls 160, 161. Inasmuch as the last-mentioned ieed roll is driven from the roll 160, I will describe it The supplemental roll is indicated at 221, and it is provided with knurled or toothed portions 222 as shown in Figure 10. The rollis supported in swinging arms 228 22 so that it can move up and dbwn in reference to the blanks which are passing therebeneath. The arm 223 is mounted upon a screw stud 225 passed into one of the side uprights oi the frame 168. The other arm 2241 is adapted to swin about the axis of a stud 226 which is screwed thoreinto, and which has a non-threaded end 227 inserted in a socket in a shaft 228 which forms a part of the powertransmitting mechanism for rotating the sup plemental feed roll '221, as I will presently e2:- plain. The supplemental feed roll has the reduced end portions 229, 230, the latter being Y 226, which pcrmits t which are more or less spherical, and which are engaged with sockets 23%, 285, in the under sides of the arms 223, 224. Springs 236, 237 are interposed between the ends of the arms 223, 224, and the stationary upright portions of the frame 168, as shown in Figure 11, so as to press the supplemental feed roll downwardly. The bearings 232, 233, and the arms 2 3, are eonnectedby a pin and slot connection indicated as a whole at 2558. Any suitable stops may be employed for preventing the arms 223, 224i from swinging downwardly too far. For drivin the supplemental feed shaft, any suitable power-transmitting mechanism may be into r posed betweu the gear 179, which drives the upper recessed l()ll,"lll(l the end of the suliiplemental feed roll. As previously stated, the pivot screw pin 226 extends into the shaft 218 which is in axial alinement with the pivot pin 225. This shaft 2 8 is formed with a gear 239 inter-meshing with an idler gear 240 journaled on a shaft 2-H mount- 2 edin the arm 22%, the said gear 240 having a hub extending into a recess in the arm, as best shown in Figure 8. The idler gear 24h) intermeshes with a gear 2&2 formed on the removable end 230 of the sruvplemental feed roll. The shaft 228 has a gear 2% pinned thereon and intermeshing with a gear 2% which is splinedon the hub of the gear 192'. By the train of gearing described, the supplemental feed roll is positively driven and yet either endmayyield relatively to the other when the blank to be sk-ived is passing thereunder, or the feed roll itself may be hodily lifted by the blank against the pressure of the springs 236, 237.

When it is desired to have access to the main rolls to remove them and replace others, the supplemental' feed roll may b e easily detached from the machine by removing the studs .e arms 22?), i and the parts carried thereby to be lifted forwardly. Theremovable frame has also a table 245 which i separately detacl'mhle or rcn'iovable. This consists, as shown in liigure l", of a i'netallic bhicl; which iits in th sockets 1572 in the side members of the top frame H3, and it extends fromthe lower yielding roll forwardly to provide a flat surface on which the blanks may be fed and which will sustain the pressure of the blanks whenengaged by the supplemental feed roll. This block. as shown in Fl 'ure 1, gu'ovidcd with a series of slots 2&6 to receive feed tingl- '4 subsequently to be described; Between the slotsQlthwhich are open from end to end there areadditiomil the slots to the conduit 248. The inner end of the blocli 245 is beveled, as shown in Figure l, so as to extend in as closely as possible to the nip of the rolls 160, 161, and the upper surface of the table formed by the block is in a plane tangeni'al to the two rolls and coincident with the plane of the upper stretch of the knife. This block may be removed to permit ingbars 250, 250, which are longitudinally slot-ted at 251. On these plates are secured adjustable slides 252, 252, into which screws, passing through the slots 251, are passed, the heads of the screws being below the plates 250. ing nuts 25 i are located on the upper ends of the screws so that, after the slides have been adjusted to proper position, they may be clamped in place. Each of the slides 252 is angular in plan View, as shown in Figure 18 and tothe inner end ofeach is secured an uprightplat c The inner faces of these plates are parallel, and in side eleva tion they are rearwai-dly inclined so a's to form side guide walls for the stack of bla'nl'i's which is placed in the magazine. To the main plate 249' there is secured an upright bar or plate 256 whichforms the rea'r'wa'll of a chute, the side walls of which are formed by the plates 255. A stack of blanks may be placed in the magazine thus formed, with the lowermostbla-nl resting on the table afforded by the block 245. It is desirable that the entire magazine may be adjusted up and down so as to vary the distance between the lower end of the uprightbacl-c wallof he chute or magazine from the table. purpose. the side walls-170 of the removable frame are fori'ncd with grooves into which tongues 258 project from the main back wall or plate of the magazine, so

that the magazine as a whole may slide up and down in the grooves or guideways. For the For th purrmse of effecting the vertical adjustment I of the entire magazine. any suitable n'ieans may be iu'ovided. .l n, Figures 18 and ill, however, I have ill'u; ited a nu'ichanism which' .pplicalile for the purpose an dwhich comp "the two two-armed levers 261. These levers ai e respectively pivoted at 262, 263 to the mainback plate 249, and the inner end the lever 261 rests against the inner end of the iever'260.- The outer enes of these levers on shoulders 26% formedon the side walls 170. An adjusting screw 265 is threadedthrough an aperture in'the plate 249 and bears against the outer arm of the lever 250. Consequently, by rotating the knurled lit) as may be desired.

head 266 of this groove, the two levers 260,

261 may be swung about their respective 1 in a ccmplenientally-formed guideway in the back plate 24;). The back plate is provided with anupright post 268 located in a socket formed therein. and against the end of this post there is located a screw 269 which is pa s d through a flange 270 formed in the upright rear wall member 256. A coiled tension spring 271 has one end attached to the flange 270 and its other end secured to a c liar 272 on the post 268.

downwardly until the end of the abutment screw eng ges the post 268. Consequently, by rotating the screw 26$ in one direction or the other, the rear wall 256 may be raised and lowered, and its lower end adjusted towards and'from the table.

The magazine, as thus described, is capable of holding a pile of blanks to be skived with the front edges of the blanks rest- 'ing against the rear wall 256 of the magazine. The side walls 255 engage the ends of the blanks and hold them against endwise dislocation. Inasmuch as the side walls 255 are adjustable longitudinally of the converging plate-e250, 250,- they may be caused to vapproach and recede from each other and also to be moved toward the rear wall 256 without affecting the parallel relationship of the said side walls-255. The whole magazine may be easily lifted from the machine to permit access to the supplemental feed roll and the main rolls, The lower end of the magazine is so adjusted in reference to the table that the lowest blank in the pile may bemoved re rwardly to be gripped by the supplemental feed roll,,the remainder of the pile being maintained in place.

The main feeding niechanisnnby which the blanks are removed successively from the bottom of the pile, comprises a plurality of lingers or feed dogs to which is imparted a fourway motion, so that they can be advanced with their o 'ierative ends 'n the horizontal planes of tl c lowermost blank, and

then dropped so as to be withdrawn belovn best shown in Figure 2. The rearend of the carriage is provided with depending lug the driven shafts in the machine. This spring draws the rear wall 256 of the magazine in which a block 273 is pivoted by a pintle27l. This block is engaged in a slotted end of a cam-operated lever 275 by which the carriage may be reciprocated longitudinally of the guideways 271. The hub of the lever 275 is secured to a rock shaft 27 6 which is journa-led in a bearing bracket 277 formed on or secured to the front face of the top section ll) of the frame. There is loosely mounted on this same shaft 276 another lever 278 having on its end a roll or truck 279 located in a path or groove 280 in a cam disk 281 secured to a shaft 282. This Shaft is journaled in a hearing at the frontof the machine and is driven by any suitable means from one of For this purpose I have shown an inclined shaft 283 provided with a bevel 'ear 286 intermeshing with and driving a complement-a1 bevel gear 287 on the shaft 282. It is desirable that a yielding connection be interposed between the two levers 275 and 278, so that, if the feeding fingers to be described. encounter abnormal resistance, the lever 275 may yield in its feeding movement. F or this purpose, the lever 275 is provided with an angular lug 289 adapted to overlap a similar lug 290 on the lever 278, as best shown in Figures 6 and 7. A bolt 291, having its head resting Upon the carriage 270 are located a plurality of feed fingers which are adjustable longitudinally independently of each other so that their ends may be caused simultaneousl to engage a curved or irregular edge of the blank to be fed. These feeding fingers are indicated at 295, and, as shown in Fig i are 1, tierc are seven of them arrangedto enter the slots 24:6 in the table. One of the ii is adapted to engage the edge of the hlain; midway between it ends, and the others are so disposed as to engagethe edge of the blank approximately near its ends and at points intermediate of the ends. Each feeding finger consists of a relatively narrow strip of metal having a tapered forwardlyprojecting end 297, the extremity, however, being blunt so as to engage the edge of the blank. The rear portion of each feeding finger has alongitudinal slot 298, and through these slots there extends a bolt- 299 which is located in upstanding lugs 300 on the carriage. The bolt is provided with a lit) with the carriage 270 but are adjustable 1011- gitudinally thereof so that the entire group i of feeding lingers may be adjusted as a unit.

' has an eccentric portion 31'? wine For this purpose, the lugs 300, 300, are formed one plate 30 i which is set in a guideway 305 in the upper portion of the carriage 270. This plate has a depending lug 306 with which a screw 30? is in threaded engagement.

The head 308 of the screw has agroove 309 engaging a-rib 310 on a short bar 311 secured to the end of the carria e (see Figures 1 and 2). By rotating the screw 30?, the plate 30% and the feed may be adjusted longitudinally ofthe slide so asto vary the limits of their feeding and recessional movements. I employ a novel mechanism for swinging the operative ends-of the feed fingers 295 vertically so as to locate them above or below the plane of the table on which the pile of blanks rests, as ineicated' in Figure 2. This mechanismcomprisestwo upright slides 312 which are vertically movable relatively to thelcarriage 2'?() and which are located in grooves formed therein. Passing transversely through'the upper ends of these slides 312, there is a belt 313 having a washer 31a andnut 315 on one end and a head 316 on the other end.

h passes. through slots 318 formed longitudinally in the forward portions of the feed fingers 293, so that, by r(' tat-ing the bolt upon its axis, the forward ends of the feed fingers n'iay be bodily adjusted as a unit up and down, after which the bolt may be secured in its adjuster" position by tightening the nut 315. On this boltare strung tubular spacers 319 located beween the feed fingers to hold them in proper relation; Similar-spacers 320 may be stifling on the bolt 299, if desired (see l'l'eure t" will thus be seen that the" individual fingers are capable, not only of individual longitudinal ustinent, but of such adjust ment sinuiltaneously or a unit, and that they may be adjusted about the axis of the belt 299 to-rai or lower their operative ends all as a'unit. I provide means under manual. control by which the uprigl'it siiding men1- hers 312 may be raised, when the carriage reaches the endof its recess mal movement, and lowered when the ca iage reaches the end of it eeding movement These means use in n rm comprise am or wedge mcn'ibers 321 which are arrangedto'slide horizontally in guideways formed in depending portions 322 of the carriage, as best shown-in Figures 2 and 9. The members 321 are provided with longitudinal cam grooves 323, through which pins 32 1 are passed into upright slides 312.

Between its ends, this belt These slots are formed, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, so that the forward portions thereof shoulders, there extend'the outer ends of two two-armed levers 327 which are respectively pivoted on upright pins 328 extendin upwardly from a cross bar 329 formed on or secured to the upright side frames 77, 173. This cross bar is in the shape of a yoke, and the pins extend upwardly from the lower portion thereof. Consequently the pivot pins 328 are stationary relatively to the travel of the main carriage 270., The inner arms of the two levers 327 are curvedabout the axes of the pivots 328' and are closely adjacent so that they may be ei'igaged by abutment menu hers movable with the carriage for rocking 11d levers. If these levcrswere stationary or immovable and the carriage were movedhack and forth relatively to them so that the ends ofthe levers would be engaged by the shoulders 325, 326, on the cam slide members 321, it wouid follow, of course, that, as the carriage reached the end of its recessional mov nt, the slides '32]. would be held against movement so that the upright slides 312 would be lowered; and that, when the car: e reached the end of its feedingn'iovemei the upright slides 312'would beraise'd;

and'this would causej'ust the opposite actuation of thefeed' fingers in respect- 0f their up and'down movement that is desired, Of coursuit would be possible to change the shape of the slots 323, so that,- if the abut nient lcvers 327 were stationary, the feet ting gers could be raisedat the end of their re cessional movement and lowered at the; end of their feeding movemimt but I prefer to provide the feeding mechanism with crevices :nder manual control by which the feed finand remain below the level of the table .or this reason, among others, that I (illlPlOY he levers 327 and the mechanism by which rs may travel back-and fortl'r with t'lieearto stop the feed of the blanks; and it is they are swung about their centers or pivots 323. it will be observed that tlie carria' gge is "ided with two depemiing lugs 330, 331

igure 2), which are spaced apart lontudiually of the travel of the carriage and vxhicl' arein line with the inner ends of the levers 327, as shown in Figure 9,'so that, as

the main feeding carriage is reciprocated, these two lugs or a-butinents are moved back and forth relatively to the inner ends of the levers 327'. The parts are so spaced that, when the carriage is reaching the en'd of its feeding movement so that the shoulders 326 of the cam slide 321 are in engagement with the outer ends of the levers 327, the lug orabutment 331 will engage the inner ends of the levers and swing them forwardly about their pivots 328, so that the outer ends of the from the abutment 331 that, when the carriage slides rearwardly and stops, the abutment 330 will just engage the lnner ends of the levers and not swing them about their pivots, so that thereafter the main carriage may be fed back and forth without effecting any vertical movement of the-opposite ends of the feed fingers. A movable abutment 332, however, is provided which may be interposed between the abutment 330 and the inn ma n carriage slides rearwardly,'the inner ends of the levers will be engaged by the supplemental abutment332 and swung about their pivots soas to force the cam slides 321 forwardly and thus raise the forward ends of the feed fingers. Thismovable abutment 3321s under manual control and it is'pivoted by across pin 333 toa bar 334. The said bar is supported by a right-angle lever 335 which has pins or studs 336, 33?,ext-ending through longitudinal slots 338, 339, in the bar 334. The lever 335 has its hub rigidly secured to a rock shaft 340, which is journaled in the yoke-shaped cross bar 329' and projects through the upright frame member 77. Hence, by rocking the shaft 340, the bar 334 may be moved from the position shown in Figure 20 to the posit-ion shown in Figure 19, so as to carry the supplementalabutment 332 from planes below the planes of travel on its end, which extends through the frame member '57, with a crank arm 341 provided In the handle there is a with a. handle spring-pressed pin whose pointed end may be'caused to engage either of two recesses 344, 345, formed in the outer face of the frame member 77. Adjacent said re- I cesses are stop me1nbers'346 to limit the movement of the crank lever 341, as best shown in Figure 5. It is'nec'essary that the bar 334 should have a limited sliding movement rel- V atively to the angle lever .335 on which it is mounted,as,of course, the supplemental abut merit must have a limited sliding move- 1 the main carriage due to the en inent witl gagement of the abutment 330 with the supplemental abutment 332.

' V. The operation ofthe mechanism will be understood in connec-tion with the illustration thereof presented by F gures 2, 3, 4, 9 and-l0.

In Figure 4, the nianually-contr'olled supplethe blanks.

mental abutment 332 is in an inactive position so that the main carriage may slideback and'forth with the operative ends of the feed lingers located below the plane of the table on which the pile of blanks rests. If it is desired to impart an up and down movement to the feeding ends of the feed lingers,,the operator, at a time when the main carriage has moved forwardly from its rearmost position,

swings the rock shaft 340 about its axis so as to raise the bar 334 from the position shown in Figure 4 to the position shown in Figure 3,

and. thus brings the suplemental abutment member 332 into the path of movement of the abutment lug 330. Then, when the main slide moves rearwardly from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 2, as it reaches the end of its recessional movement,

the abutment engages the supplemental abutment and moves it rearwardly, thereer ends'of the levers 327, so that, when the recessional travel of the main carriage, and,

through the pin and slot connections 323, 324, raisethe vertical slides 312, and thus project the feeding ends of the feed fingers upwardly into the planes of the lowermost blank in the magazine. The extent of this up and down movement of the feed lingers is shown by comparing Figures 2 and 3. In Figure 3, the feed fingers have reached the ends of their forward or feeding movement and have been depressed so that they may be carried rearwardly out of engagement with the then lowest blank in themagazine. In Figure 2, the carriage has reached the end of its recessional movement and'the feed fingers have been raised so that they inaythen engage the bottom blank in the pile and feed it forwardly far enough to be engaged by the supplemental feed roll and the main roll. in Figure 2 the blank Z), which is resl ingupon the table and which is at the bottom of the pile, is shown in Figure 3 as hav- 1 in u fed forwardly so that it is in the .i of the'rolls i ml. At any time when "A rator observes that the blanks are not being ed prop rly,he mi y depress the crank lever 331 so as to render the feed lingers inac tive, whereafter the feed carriage'will move back and Iorth without effecting the feed of Blanks, which are designed for use either for'stiifening the counter or the toe of a sh e, r are provided with curved edges so thatit is quite difiicult'to present them accurately to the main rolls which 1n turn present them to theskiving knife, and it is practically impos V provide. a supplemental positioning mocha nism by which the lower blanks of the pile are properly positioned before they are engaged the ends of the feed lingers. This positioning mechanism comprises two elongated slotted bars 347, 347, which rest upon the main carriage between the two outer pairs of feed fingers 295, as shown in Figure 1.

These bars are longitudinally slotted as stated,andthrough the slots screws are passed -into the carriage, so that, by loosening the screws, the positioning bars may be adjusted endwise. At its front end, each of the bars 347 is'provided with a head 349 with its front end beveled at 350. These heads are located just above the feed lingers when the latter arein their-highest positions. and they are arranged so that, when the feed carriage ,isl'noved forward almost to the extent ofits feeding movement,thesepositioning bars will engage three or four of'the lowest blanks in the pile in the magazine, and,'by reason of the *t'actthat they engage the blanks at relatively remotely separated points nearthe ends of the blanks, they swingthe blanks sufiiciently so 't-hatthey will be properly engaged by the teed'lingers when they successively reach the bottom of thepile; and'thus, as the feed tin- "gers engage each positioned blank, they present it accurately to the rolls 160, 161, so that itwill register in the cavity in the roll 160.

Having 'thus described an embodiment of this invention it should be evident to those skilled in the art that Various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from its spirit or scope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: v 1. In a machine otthe class described, a reciprocatory it'e'ed carriage, a plurality of feed lingers maybe adjusted lengthwise independently of the others. and means by which the fingers may fbe adjusted in a group length- Wise.

3. In a machine of the class described, a reciprocatory feed carriage, a plurality of feed fingers thereon, a guideway for the carriage, means for reciprocatin said carriage in said guideway, and means on the carriage "fonmoving said fingers up and down.

4. In a machine of the class described, a

"reciprocatory feed carriage, a plurality of teed fingers thereon, a cross pivot pin on said carriage engaged in slots in said. fingers, and

7 "about said pivot pin, 7

" In a machine of the class described, a

means foradjustin said'fingers as a group reciprocatory teed carriage, a plurality of' teed lingers thereon, parallel cross pins on said carriage'engaged 1n slots in sa1d lingers,

and spacers on said pins located between said lingers.

In a machine of the class described, a reciprocatory teed carriage, a plu 'ality of feed fingers thereon, upright slides for moving the fingers into and out of the planes of the blank, a cam member movable with said' said carriage above said feediingers "for engaging blanks in the magazine and posiby said fingers.

8. In a-macl 'ne of the class described, a reciprocatory feed carri go, a plurality of :leedfingers thereoma magazine for a'pile of tioninmthem are )aratorv to their bein fed if u D blanks, a work table on which said pile may rest with'the lowest blank in position to be engaged by said teed lingers, laterally spaced bars on said carriage'adplstable lengthwise,

means for securing said bars above said lingers, and beveledheads on said bars'for engaging the blanks above that engaged by the feed fingers.

9. In a machine of the class described, a reciprocatory feed carriage, a plurality of feed fingers thereon, mechan sm torreciproeating said carriage, mechal'ii'sm for moving said fingers up and down relatively to said carriage, and manual inc-ans for throwing said lastmentioned mechai'iism out of action.

10. In a machine of the class described, .a

work plate on which a title oi blanksmav rest a magazine for said pile of blanks, a feed can range, teed. lingers thereon arranged to move back and fourth ui'ider the pil'e ol blanks below the level of the food table, and mechanism, under manual control, for automatically raising and lowering said fingers into and out of the planes of the lowest possibleblank of the pile. I I

11. In a machine of the class described, a work plate on Which a pile of blanks may rest, a magazine for said pile of blanks, a feed carriage, feed fingers thereon arranged to move back and forth under the pile of blanks below the level of-the feed table, automatic mechanism for raising and lowering said lingers into and out of the'plane of the lowest blankof the pile, mechanism for 'reciprd eating said carriage, and'manuall'y operated means for throwing said automatic mech- .anism out of actionwithout interrupting the reciprocation'of said carriage.

19. In a'machine of theclass described. a

work plate on which a pile of blanks may rest, a magazine for said pile of blanks, a feed carriage, feed fingers thereon arranged to move back and forth under the pile of blanks below the level of the feed table, ant mechanism for moving said fingers into and out of the planes of the lows blank in the pile, comprising vertical slides on said carriage connected to said lingers, cam or wedge members on said carriage engaged with said slides and movable lengthwise of the path of said carriage, stationary abutments, and pivoted levers on said carriage, engaged with said gage said abutments as saidcarriage is reciprocated.

13. In a machine of the class described, a work plate on which a pile of blanks may rest, a magazine for said pile of blanks, a feed carriage, feed fingers thereon arranged to move back and forth under the pile of blanks below the level of the feed table, and mechanism for moving said fingers into and out of the planes of the lowest blank comprising vertical slides on said carriage connected to said fingers, cam or wedge me1n bers on said carria e en 'a ed with said slides and movable lengthwise of the path of said carriage, stationary abutments, pivoted levers on said carriage, engaged with said wedge or cam members, and arranged to engage said 7 abutments assaid carriage is reciprocated,

and a manually operated member movable into and out of position between said'levers and one of said abutments.

14. In a machine of the class described, means for feeding said successive blanks from a pile thereof, a work plate for supporting said pile, a magazine for said pile comprising a main block or plate, diverging bars on said 7 plate upright parallel side walls adjusable longitudinally on said bars to vary the Gi'fQC- tive distance between said walls, and a vertical rear wall secured to said mam block or plate. 7 I 7 15. In a machine of the class described, a table for supporting a pile of blanks, sa d table having a pair of sets of slots therethrough, reciprocating feedingdeviccs e::

the pile,

tending through one set of slots, and a vacuum duet connnunicatin with the other set of slots.

16. In a machine of the class described, a

table for supporting a pile of blanks, said table having slots therethrough, feeding dewedge or cam member and arranged to en vices reciprocable in said slots, means for 'sing said devices above the surface of said able on one direction of traverse to engage and "eed the lowest blank of the pile, and a .vacuum duct communicating through said table with the lower face of the lowest blank of the pile.

18. In a machine of the class described, a table for supportin a pile of blanks, said table having slots therethrough, feeding devices reciprocable in said slots, means for sing said devices above the surface of said table on one direction of traverse to engage and feed the lowest blank of the pile, a vacm'unduct communicating through said table with the lower face of the lowestblank of the pile, and means for rendering said raising means inoperative.

19. In a machine of the class described, a magazine for a pile of blanks, a work table sustaining said pile of blanks and having a plurality of parallel slots, a reciprocatory carriage beside said table and having feed fingers adapted to extend into and move longitudinally of said slots, mechanism for reciprocating said carriage, mechanism for elevating said feed lingers above the surface of said table for their feeding stroke and dep sing them below the surface of the table for their recessional stroke, and means by which the lastmentiened mecnanism may be thrmvu out of action"without atlecting the reciprocation of the carriage.

in testimony whereof I have signature:

ELMER n. LANE. 

